Heartbeats
by Soozen
Summary: Sequel to Inexplicable Attraction. Sparks fly between Zuko and Katara, and they end up doing something they regret.
1. One Night to Be Confused

_"One night of magic rush_  
_The start - a simple touch_  
_One night to push and scream_  
_And then relief_  
_Ten days of perfect tunes_  
_The colors red and blue_  
_We had a promise made…."_  
-Heartbeats by The Knife

* * *

Zuko was certain of only one thing: Katara had all the urgency, passion and heat of a fire bender. Every kiss he gave, every time he nipped at her lips, her neck, every move he made was met with just as much fervor, if not more so, and intensified and doubled each time.

This…really wasn't supposed to happen, the two entwined, gasping and moving together on his bed, hands trailing over each other, learning each other's bodies and forms. He was Fire Lord, and she was just some water tribe peasant.

But she was more than that.

He was more than that.

They were friends, and this one time, they'd be lovers. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Zuko knew they'd never speak of this again; it would be just this once. Mai would never find out, nor would Aang.

They'd consider it a mistake in the morning, surely. But this was a long time coming.

She gasped beneath him, and Zuko was certain he'd never heard anything more beautiful in his life. _She_ was just so beautiful, everything about her, from her shape to her hair to her eyes to her voice, her personality. He loved the fire inside, longed for it from Mai. But Mai couldn't express herself so openly as Katara did.

But now wasn't the time to think about Mai. Now was for Katara, and making sure that this would be one of the best nights of her life.

Of his life.

How had this even happened? Katara was visiting by herself, just to visit. They'd had some wine- not much; Zuko never allowed himself to drink much. He wasn't a fan of making a fool of himself under any circumstances. And then they'd just been walking around the palace, talking.

He'd said something that set her off, yelling at him, and he'd…forgotten what it was like to see such passion from a woman; Mai never yelled at him. Slightly scolded, yes, but showed extreme emotion? Never. And Zuko was enthralled; a little scared, but enthralled more than anything. He couldn't help himself.

He'd kissed her.

And then it led to this, the two in bed together.

* * *

An hour later, it became obvious:

This had been a mistake. A huge mistake for both of them.

They were still in bed, neither speaking just yet. Katara had her eyes on the ceiling, and Zuko was watching her, studying her almost. She kept biting her lip and frowning, and Zuko half wanted to say something to comfort her, but…that could invoke the wrath of Katara, a very fearsome thing.

So, his best bet was to wait, and let her speak first.

"I can't believe we just did that," Katara said finally, causing Zuko to jump a little. She still wasn't look at him, still fixated on the ceiling. "That I just did that. Aang…. Aang is going to be so upset."

Zuko swallowed. "You're going to tell Aang?" he asked, clearly surprised. He figured this would just be…swept under the rug and forgotten about.

She whipped around to look at him. "You _aren't_ going to tell Mai?" Oh no. He'd invoked the wrath of Katara; she was clearly agitated, her eyes narrowed at him. "Zuko, I heard there was talk of a wedding for you two- and you aren't going to tell her about- about this?"

Zuko sat up, sighing. Already he was starting to wonder if this was worth it, to have this to deal with- no. No; it had been worth it, to have the hottest, most passionate sex of his life. He'd never take that back.

Even if it was a terrible thing to have done.

Zuko acknowledged that. It was a mistake, a huge mistake. But… He couldn't tell Mai.

"Mai would be…crushed," he said finally. "And she'd probably kill me."

"Oh, so that's what you're worried about? Mai being rightfully angry with you?"

Zuko slumped forward a bit, sighing again. "No. I don't want to hurt her."

"Well, good job with that," Katara said sarcastically.

"Hey! Don't act like I'm the bad guy here!" Zuko snapped back, looking at Katara. "You were just as into it as I was!"

Katara seemed to shrink a little. "I know," she said softly. "…What do we do now?"

Zuko was quiet a moment. "I don't think we should tell Aang or Mai," he finally said. "This was a mistake, and we shouldn't have done it. We both agree on that."

"You got that right," Katara huffed. Zuko chose to ignore that, however hard it was to.

"If they knew, they'd be very upset. It'd kill Aang if he found out. You know it would."

Slowly, Katara nodded.

"Okay," Zuko said with a slight nod as well.

* * *

Uhhh…I don't know where this came from I'm blaming it on The Knife, for creating a song that is so wholly Zutara.

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	2. One Night to Speed Up Truth

"_One night to be confused  
One night to speed up truth  
We had a promise made  
Four hands and then away…"_

_

* * *

_

Ignoring what had happened was harder than Zuko ever imagined. Breakfast the next morning was fairly awkward; after the had sex and had decided to never speak of it again, Katara had gone back to her room. When she came to breakfast, they'd looked at each other, and then quickly away.

There was casual talk, though it was slight and small, the responses short. It was awkward and Zuko was nervous, but the whole time, he couldn't help but think about just how lovely she looked.

It wasn't that he'd never noticed. He had; oh, he definitely had taken note of how beautiful she was. Who hadn't? She had an exotic look to her, between the warm, dark skin and those large, blue eyes. But, now that he'd really seen her, felt her, moved with her, it was all he could see.

It was taking all his self control not to go across the table, lay her down on it, and fuck her senseless.

But she would hate him for that. It would inspire that fiery rage she had and-

Oh_, that'd_ be hot. Okay, wrong thing to think about.

But seriously; how had he not wanted this before?

Because of Mai. He had Mai, and Mai was wonderful. Sure, she was rather quiet and serious, but he loved that about her. He was emotional enough, he didn't need another highly emotional person around him all the time. She balanced him out, right?

Katara couldn't balance him, She was also emotional, also could have a temper. They could fight so easily. But…she was kind, and trusting, and so full of love. She was resilient and always there when needed.

Mai was his polar opposite. Katara was not, but she was a lot of what he wasn't.

Opposites attract, and he loved Mai, and so he just could not take Katara whenever he wanted.

Which, apparently, was often.

Throughout that whole day, he'd just have that urge, to feel her and taste her like he had the night before. And if the darkened look in her eyes he saw every now and then was any indication, she felt the same.

They were sitting outside, in a courtyard, enjoying the last few rays of sun by the pond. Both were sitting stiffly, having polite conversation, but just like at breakfast, it wasn't as comfortable as their talks usually were. It was like they were both scared to relax.

"Zuko."

Zuko stopped in mid-sentence and looked at Katara. He'd been talking about something meaningless, how the Fire Nation was particularly nice this time of year, or something. "Yes?"

Her eyes were big, and almost pleading. "We can't do this," she said.

"Do what?" Zuko feigned innocence, and poorly.

"This," she said. "Not talking about it, trying to ignore it." Katara shook her head, and her waves tussled so wonderfully around her shoulders. "We can't do it; I know I can't do it."

"So what are you suggesting? That we just talk about how we lost it and slept with each other?" Zuko said, not sure what she was trying to say. "That we let Aang and Mai know? They'll both freak out and _kill_ us; I don't want to invoke the Avatar State on me."

"No, no," Katara said and looked away. "But we can't keep ignoring it. This- this is _awful, _Zuko. We haven't acted like ourselves all day." She sighed. "Maybe I should leave."

Zuko's eyes widened. "You're going to leave-"

"Well, what else are we going to do?" she asked, and sighed again. "This sucks, and I don't want to have to deal with all this- all the awkward conversations and uncomfortable silences, and tension and-"

Zuko kissed her before he thought it through, quickly pressing his lips to hers, and her lips felt soft and perfect against his; soon enough, she was returning the kiss, and initiating the next.

It wasn't until he was starting to ease her down on her back that she pushed him away.

They were both panting slightly as they stared at each other, Zuko still hovering over her a little. "I- I'm sorry," he finally stuttered, moving back.

Katara didn't respond, just leaned forward, holding her face in her hands. "What is wrong with us?" she finally said. "We- this is wrong! This is so wrong and I love Aang and this is just not right!"

Zuko said nothing. He couldn't answer her question. What was wrong with them?

"But I don't want…. I mean, this is so difficult," Katara said, lifting her head. "There's always been something about you, I think." She looked at him, biting her lip. "I can't…. I can't ignore it now."

Zuko nodded. "I know what you mean," he said softly. "All day, I haven't been able to- I mean, you're just-" Zuko stopped himself before he continued talking in circles. He couldn't dictate everything he thought and felt well; it was one of his ever growing list of flaws.

Which now included infidelity. Great.

"So what do we do?" Katara asked. "I can't ignore what we did, and I can't ignore you."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Zuko was certain Katara was thinking hard over this, and he was too. They couldn't do this, and it was probably best for her to leave, for the both of them, but he didn't want her to leave. He enjoyed her company, and he saw his friends so rarely.

"What if," Zuko said slowly, speaking as the idea came to him, "just this once, we just…go with it?" Katara's jaw dropped and she started to glare, so he quickly continued. "Just this one visit. After you leave, we never speak of it again, never do anything with each other again, just…get it out of our systems."

"Are you serious?"

Zuko was surprised that there was no anger in Katara's voice, but shock and disbelief, and a little…curiosity.

"It might be…worth it?"

He was terrible for thinking this. He couldn't believe he was considering it, and wanting it, and he was sure Katara was feeling the same way.

But they just couldn't stay away. It was that inexplicable attraction.

* * *

Another chapter, woo!

Please leave constructive criticisms.


	3. We Had A Promise Made

_"I love the place where we shared our tiny grace_  
_But just because it's real don't mean it's gonna work…"_  
-True Affection by The Blow

* * *

The day finally came for Katara to leave, and Zuko didn't know if this was going to be good for them, or if he was going to absolutely hate it.

He'd taken Katara dozens of times since they'd agreed to 'go with it.' He'd gotten absolutely nothing done for his nation during that time, and Zuko did not regret a moment of it. She was far too intoxicating to deny, and when she was pleading and mewling beneath him, Zuko couldn't imagine being with anyone else. Mai was far from his mind during those few days.

Hardly a moment was spent apart. As try as he might to keep things discrete, it was difficult. The attraction to Katara was so great, he found himself often with the incredible urge to force her pull her into the closest room as they walked down a hallway together, to capture her lips in his own, have her down on the floor and have his way with her.

The urges scared him sometimes; they were so strong and animalistic and intense. Katara had awoken a passion deep within him that he could hardly control.

Perhaps it was partially due to the knowledge that they shouldn't be doing it, for so many, many different reasons; the thought that it was, in its own way, practically forbidden.

It was early morning when Zuko walked slowly to Katara's room, the day she was to leave. He was deep in thought, his mind and heart dealing with conflicting emotions. He did not want her to leave; he wanted to keep Katara by him, at his side. The urge, he knew, was primitive and inappropriate and wrong on so many levels, but nevertheless, he wanted her.

He had to convince her to stay. He had to, despite the fact that Mai would return from visiting distant relatives soon. Maybe it was because of that, because he didn't want to have to face Mai. Would he be able to hide all that he'd done behind her back? When face to face with her, and making love to her, could he do it without the guilt and the shame that surely would come? And, for that matter, would Katara be able to keep it from Aang?

They'd cross that bridge when they came to it. That was the only thing they could do.

Unless, they came forth and told their respective partners about their infidelity. Katara would be free to stay with him then. And now, with only thoughts of Katara in his mind, that was all Zuko wanted.

Reaching her door, he knocked out of politeness, waiting for the okay to come in. Once she heard her call through the door, he opened it, and quickly shut it behind him. Katara was at her bed, a trunk open at the foot of it, which she was currently packing. She looked over at him, smiled a little sadly, then went back to what she was doing.

"Hello Zuko," she said simply.

"Don't leave." It was all he could think of to say. He wanted her to stay, and had to convince her to do so.

Katara froze as she folded a dress, then looked at Zuko. "You know I can't," she said softly. "I have to go home."

"No you don't," Zuko said, walking further into the room, to Katara. She dropped the garment in the trunk, then stood straight, facing him. "You can stay here with me."

She sighed heavily, looking away. "What about Mai, Zuko? Do you expect her to be fine with that? And what do you think will happen with us? That it'll be perfectly fine, staying with her, but coming to me in secret? I'd be degraded into a whore." She shook her head, and mumbled, and Zuko only just caught her words: "Not that I'm far from it now."

His brow furrowed as he frowned. "You aren't a whore-"

"What else do you call someone who- who services the Fire Lord on the side?" Katara said, an edge to her voice. The guilt was there in her tone, laid thick.

"I don't think of you that way, you know that."

She looked to him again, and he was surprised and taken with the wild array of emotions that were clear in her eyes. "That is what everyone else would think."

"Screw everyone else."

Katara laughed, high and in what seemed to be disbelief. "That's easy for you to say. You're the Fire Lord; you don't have to care what others think. But I do, and I already don't know how I'm going to live with myself for having done this." She picked up another dress, to fold and pack away, but Zuko caught her arm, stopping her.

"Then stay. I'll end it with Mai. We could be together," he said, nearly believing his own words.

"What for? All we have is sex; nothing beyond that."

Her words stung, somehow; perhaps because of how true they were. But Zuko didn't want them to be true; he didn't want to have cheated on Mai for nothing.

"Katara, there's…there's something about you, something that I just don't have with Mai; that pull, that…attraction. When you and I are together, it's…." Zuko trailed off. He didn't have the words for it, nor was he comfortable spilling out like that.

Katara sighed. "I know," she said, and sat down on the bed. "I know, but Zuko; passionate sex is not a relationship. I love Aang, and I know you love Mai. We made an incredibly stupid and terrible decision. Don't make this into an even bigger mistake than it already is."

She was right. Zuko hated it, and wanted to throw all logic out the window because of it, but damn it, she was right. He sighed bitterly and took a seat beside Katara, staring straight ahead.

"Why did we let this go on for so long?" he wondered aloud, not really directing the question to Katara.

She answered anyway. "You had the brilliant idea of 'just going with it,' from what I remember."

"I know," Zuko said, still not looking at her. "I didn't expect it to become so real. It was a stupid idea."

"It was. And I was stupid for going along with it."

They sat in silence for a few moments, and Zuko did his damnedest to make sure he did not look at Katara. If he did, another stupid mistake could be made.

"So what happens now?" Zuko finally asked.

"Now," Katara said beside him, "I go home, and we…pretend this never happened, as hard as that's going to be. I don't know if I can do it."

"Give me fair warning if you do tell Aang. I'd like to know if I'm about to be killed by the Avatar." He looked over, and was surprised to see Katara biting her lip, her eyes rimmed with tears. "Katara?"

She burst into tears, burying her face in her hands. Zuko stared awkwardly at her; he didn't know what to do. He wanted to hold her, wrap her up in his arms and make everything better, but had the strong feeling that touching her was the wrong thing to do right now.

"I don't know if I can ever look at Aang again," she said through her sobs. "He- he'll hate me for what I did and- and I can't blame him for that! I can't!"

Screw it. Zuko couldn't, absolutely couldn't, just watch her cry, so obviously hurting. He drew her into a hug, wrapping both arms around her and cradled her tightly, absentmindedly stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. It was all he could say. He couldn't magically take back what they'd done, nor could he remove all the guilt she clearly felt. All he could do was offer her a tiny bit of comfort, and hope it would help.

Katara continued to cry for a little, and Zuko continued to hold her in silence, allowing her time to gain control of herself. When she finally spoke, Zuko stiffened a little.

"We should tell them," she said and sniffled a little.

Zuko couldn't say no to that. He didn't want to. Telling Aang and Mai terrified him outright. But he couldn't control Katara's actions. So he nodded and agreed softly, "We should."

"Aang will probably go into the Avatar State."

"He'll be too late to kill me. Mai will have a knife in my chest before I finish explaining."

Surprisingly, that earned a soft, short laugh from Katara, and she pushed herself out of Zuko's arms. He looked at her, watching her wipe away tears from her cheeks.

"And then she'll be after my blood," she finished.

Zuko nodded. Sure, they were sort of joking, but there was a high possibility of just that happening.

Katara let out a heavy sigh. "So we can't tell them," she said, looking down at the floor.

"Not unless we both want to be murdered."

She nodded, then stood up. "I should really finish packing, if I'm going to make my ship on time," she said, a little awkward and stiff.

Zuko understood. "I'll see you off once you're ready-"

"No," she said, cutting him off with a shake of her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'll be too emotional and I don't want anyone around to get the wrong idea…."

"Oh." Zuko remained seated for a moment, not certain of what to do.

"We should say goodbye now, Zuko."

Now. That seemed a little too soon to the young Fire Lord. He repeated the word, not liking the sound of it.

"Yes, now. Before we make anymore mistakes we can't take back."

Why did Katara have to be so sensible and make so many good points?

"Right," Zuko said, and stood up. They looked awkwardly at each other, both clearly not sure of how to go about it, before Katara caved and hugged him tightly. Both knew it would be a long time before they saw each other again; there wouldn't be another reason for Katara to visit for many, many months; not unless something came up.

When they finally parted, Zuko kissed Katara's cheek once, and then lightly on the lips before stepping back. He'd needed once last kiss, one last touch, but knew better than to try and take more. This goodbye was hard enough.

"Have a safe journey home," Zuko said stiffly, and Katara nodded, whispering a small thank you. And then, before he could change his mind and take her one last time, he returned the nod, and left the room.

It was going to take some time to adjust to her not being there anymore.

* * *

Sorry for the long time between posts!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please leave constructive criticisms.


	4. The Beast You've Made of Me

I'm so sorry for the long wait on this, guys! I've been working seven days a week, dealing with an illness for two weeks, and have still been trying to keep up with a social life. Writing had to take a back burner, unfortunately.

Anyway, thanks for being so patient, and here's the next installment!

* * *

_"If you could only see the beast you made of me_  
_I've held it in, but now it seems you set it running free_  
_The saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound…."_  
-Howl by Florence and the Machine

* * *

Something was different.

Mai had returned from her vacation, which hadn't been all that relaxing. She'd been visiting distant family, and that was always…boring. Dreadfully boring, and a little emotionally taxing. She'd been rather excited about returning to the capital city, and to Zuko.

Oh, she had missed Zuko, very much.

But something was off. She'd noticed it the second she saw Zuko when she returned. It wasn't anything she could place; maybe something in his eyes? Like something was hidden behind them, and his smile wasn't as genuine as she remembered.

Mai brushed it off as best she could; it was probably just the time she'd spent away from him, and some odd paranoia.

But when she kissed him, there was that same weird thing. Well, not the _same_. This was different, not so hidden. Kisses with Zuko were normally sweet and chaste, or filled with a yearning Zuko only just barely managed to contain. She'd loved that, knowing Zuko only just managed to keep himself under control around her; it was like standing on the edge of something a little dangerous.

But now, his lips would crush against hers, the urgency no longer held back. It was as if he were trying to pull the desire up out of her and, in all honesty, it kind of scared Mai. She wasn't comfortable with that, with how his hands would roam aggressively over her; she'd gasped out of surprise once, and that only seemed to urge Zuko on further and harder. Mai was never one for overly aggressive acts of passion. She preferred the smaller gestures, smaller motions that were sweeter and filled to the brim with emotion.

And that wasn't where it all ended. No, Mai heard things. Mostly they were quick bits she heard the servants gossiping about in hushed voices, but they always quickly shut up the moment they realized Mai was in the room. And it was always about one thing:

Zuko, and Katara.

Mai had known Katara had come to visit while she had gone to see family. It hadn't bothered her in the slightest before she left; Zuko and Katara were clearly just friends, just as Zuko was friends with Aang, not to mention Katara was in a relationship with the Avatar.

That didn't stop the servants from whispering, and every time Mai heard a bit of it here and there, she felt sick. There was no way it could have happened, that Zuko and Katara could have ever-

No. It was simply an impossibility that Zuko would cheat on her. They were in love, and had been for years.

Mai couldn't help but wonder, though.

* * *

Zuko knew there was a slight…awkwardness between him and Mai, but felt that overall, he was doing an excellent job of covering up all that he'd done with Katara. He was affectionate with Mai, not shying away out of guilt.

But there was a stiffness from Mai, one that he wasn't sure had just recently developed, or if it had been there all along and he'd failed to notice. She wasn't so pliable in his hands, didn't react as openly or heatedly as Katara had; sometimes, she seemed…uncomfortable.

Not so uncomfortable that Zuko asked about it. But…enough for him to notice, from time to time.

But he brushed it off. He loved Mai; he really did. He'd forgotten, with Katara around, providing an ever alluring distraction, how much he loved and cared for Mai, and was very grateful that Katara had chosen not to stay with him. It would have destroyed all he had with Mai; the love and tenderness between them, a pairing that was approved of by all of the Fire Nation, and her strange and very dry sense of humor that he'd grown to love.

Zuko would never give that up, ever.

….Even if the sex was nothing in comparison to how it was with Katara. There was passion, yes, but not as prominent as it was with Katara, how Katara bucked against him, and fought for dominance, and left him literally panting for more from her.

Just thinking about sex with Katara was enough to get his blood flowing, and normally, he'd need to meditate quietly on his own, to calm down.

But then it happened one evening, after a light dinner with Mai, and Zuko hadn't been able to help himself. Things quickly became heated between him and Mai, and it wasn't long before they found themselves in the royal bed chamber.

The only place Zuko wanted to be at the moment.

As always, Mai wasn't responding the way Zuko wanted, but it was still Mai, his lovely, beautiful Mai. And she was still wonderful, just different, and if he closed his eyes, and though back, he could pretend this was-

"Katara!"

The gasp slipped between his lips without him even realizing it, and he continued on, thrusting hard, not aware of the grave error he'd made.

But Mai had heard it; without a doubt she'd heard it, and had gone deathly still beneath Zuko for a second, before bracing her hands against his chest and forcing him up.

"What?" Zuko asked, utterly confused, and his confusion grew as she shoved him completely off of her, and eased out from underneath him, sitting up. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Mai was pulling the silk sheets up, to cover herself, and Zuko was frantically trying to figure out what on earth it was he'd done to offend her so.

He shifted closer to her, his brown furrowed. "Did I hurt you?" he asked, actually a little scared that was what had happened. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched away.

That was an incredibly bad reaction, if Zuko had ever seen one.

"You said her name," Mai said, carefully avoiding Zuko's gaze. "Katara."

Zuko's eyes widened. "I-I did? Are you sure-"

"Yes, I'm sure," Mai snapped back. "I heard you, Zuko."

"Well, I- I don't know why I would have said that, Mai…."

She didn't say anything in response, just sat quietly, biting her lip. Zuko found himself wondering if it would be a bigger mistake to touch her again, in a comforting manner, of course, or to not touch her.

"When I came back from visiting my family," Mai said slowly, "I noticed something was off with you. I didn't know what it was, I couldn't place it, and then I heard the servants gossiping. About Katara, and you."

Zuko felt his blood run cold. Oh, Agni, no. This wasn't happening. Mai wasn't putting it together-

But she was. Mai wasn't stupid. She was smart, and of course she'd figure it out. Just don't ask, Zuko silently pleaded. Don't ask, don't ask-

"Were you and Katara having an affair?"

Zuko swallowed, and became very aware of just how silent the room was as he tried to figure out how to answer that. Turns out, he didn't have to. Mai let out a high laugh after a few seconds, and shook her head.

"I should have known," she said. "I should have known, right from the start, with how you were acting, and what the servants were saying. But I didn't think you'd ever do this to me, Zuko-"

"It was a one time thing," Zuko said quickly, his heart pounding. "We didn't mean for it to get this far; we agreed to never speak of it again after she left."

Mai suddenly turned to look at him, and Zuko felt sick. She looked so angry and upset, her eyes brimming with tears; he was vividly reminded of how, years back, he'd been forced to lock her in a cell at the Boiling Rock so he could escape with Sokka. This was the very same look she'd given him through the small window of the cell door, and just as it had then; it tore at his heart strings.

And just like back then, Zuko knew there was nothing he could do to comfort her, no matter how much he wanted to.

"Does that make it any better, Zuko?" Mai demanded. "Hiding it from me, that you and Katara-" She couldn't finish the sentence, and only glared at Zuko.

"No," Zuko said quickly. "No, it doesn't. I know it doesn't. But we just thought it would be best if no one found out; that we'd never do it again, and no one would know. I'm- I'm so sorry Mai." He tried to put a hand on her shoulder again, but she moved away, stepping off the bed.

She was holding back tears, and Zuko felt lost, and vile. He'd done this; he was putting Mai through this turmoil, more pain than she'd ever felt in her life. And, the worst part, was there was nothing he could do to comfort her.

"So Avatar Aang doesn't know," Mai asked, sniffling a little as she gathered her clothing.

Zuko shook his head. "No," he said simply.

"I see."

He remained silent as Mai started to get dressed, but couldn't hold back forever. "Don't go, Mai. I'm sorry; I never wanted it to happen-"

"And I'm sure you did a lot to avoid fucking her," Mai snapped back, rushing through all the buttons she had to fasten.

"I'm sorry." It was all he could say. "Please, don't go- I'll explain everything-"

"No," Mai said sharply, cutting him off. "I don't want an explanation. I don't want to hear anything more about this, and I don't want to see you." She paused, taking in a ragged breath. "We're over, Zuko. I can't- I never want to see you again."

* * *

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter: Aang and Katara!

Please leave constructive criticisms.


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